Dell Systems Management
Dell PowerEdge servers include an on-board baseboard management controller (BMC) that complies with the industry standard IPMI specification. Newer ninth generation servers (PowerEdge 1950, 2950, 2900 and the Blade 1955) support IPMI2.0 where the eighth-generation servers support IPMI1.5. The on-board BMC monitors the server for critical events by communicating with various sensors on the system board, and sends alerts and log events when certain parameters exceed their preset thresholds and performs the following management functions:
- Remote access to the BMC through the system's serial port and integrated network interface card (NIC)
- Fault logging and SNMP alerting
- Access to the system event log (SEL) and sensor status information
- Control of system functions, including power cycling
- Text console redirection for system setup, text based utilities, and operating system (OS) consoles
- Access to the EMS, SAC and Linux serial console interfaces using serial over LAN (SOL)
For more information on BMC configuration and features refer IPMI Configuration on Ninth-Generation Dell PowerEdge Servers. For more advanced management Dell servers also have the option to integrate a Dell Remote Assistant Card (DRAC), a PCI card containing the Dell's proprietary service processor.
Dell DRAC
Dell's service processor product has evolved rapidly and the current model is DRAC 5 (although DRAC 4 still ships with eighth generation servers. The DRAC 5 interfaces with the BMC chip on the server motherboard. It supports IPMI 2.0 and provides an extensive list of management services:
- OS-independent console, keyboard, and mouse redirection (virtual KVM) functionality
- Virtual floppy and virtual CD media functionality
- Secure connections using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and SSH interfaces
- IPMI 2.0 out-of-band interfaces
- Enhanced connectivity using the SMASH CLI
| Vendor | Service Processor | Software | Model | Type | Features |
| Dell | DRAC (Dell Remote Assistant Card) | Dell OpenManage | DRAC IV, 5 and MC | PCI and daughter card | Command line & Web interface; Virtual KVM; Virtual media access; Serial and UDP/TCP Ethernet connection; Remote power control; Local logs & alerts; Active Directory, SSH, SSL |
Dell OpenManage Software
Dell's OpenManage software, which ships with Dell PowerEdge servers, provides a range of system management functions. It supports monitoring for single and multiple servers, and communicates with the BMC and DRAC processors.
Dell's monitoring agent, called Server Administrator, is deployed on servers to be monitored so that alerts and other event information can be seen directly through its Web-based GUI and/or sent to a central console used to monitor Dell hardware. Server Administrator provides views of a single system's configuration, health, and performance. It can be used to configure BIOS settings or server actions, and it provides online diagnostics to help isolate problems or shut down and restart the server.
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Dell's IT Assistant provides support for network monitoring and can discover servers attached to IP networks. IT Assistant's console provides views of all managed systems, including health and alert status. Working in conjunction with Server Administrator, IT Assistant provides robust discovery, inventory, and monitoring of Dell servers. It can also monitor clients and network hardware, in addition to servers.
Dell provides remote management of servers and blades through a combination of hardware facilities, such as on-board management controllers, and supporting management software capabilities, such as server console redirection; virtual keyboard, video, and mouse (KVM); Active Directory authentication; and virtual boot media. |
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Dell's OpenManage is quite different to the management offerings from other system vendors such as HP and IBM. OpenManage's toolkit delivers fine-grain management of Dell systems, and then it makes these tools and the system information openly available so they can be integrated in with other third party tools such Altiris and Microsoft SMS. This contrasts with HP's OpenView and IBM's Tivoli which each present as the overarching solution for managing hardware, applications, networks, storage; and for managing change, security, traffic, usage policy, alerts etc. Dell's focused approach also compliments Opengear's approach to system management.
The Dell + Opengear solution
Opengear IM4200 gateways and SDTConnector client ship preconfigured with support for Dell's BMCs and DRAC cards and associated OpenManage tools. They provide the ideal solution for securely accessing and controlling these service processors and Dell servers and storage devices.
| For enterprises with distributed branch offices the IM4200 family provides a powerful integrated solution. In the smaller branches with only a few racks of servers and network devices to administer, the IM4200 offers a single point of local and remote access to all the serial consoles, network consoles, service processors and power units at the site. In larger branches with racks of servers to administer, the IM4200 can serve as the management LAN gateway that securely isolates the service processors. |
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For the SMB customer the IM4216-25 + SDTConnector offers integrated out-of-band management fabric for DRACs/BMCs and remote access to Dell tools as well as management of non-Dell serial console equipment. It also delivers alternate connectivity for the out of band access with broadband and dial-up support. And for data center customers with racks of serial console devices to administer, the IM4248-2 (with its redundant power supplies, Ethernet failover, authentication and logs of all accesses) provides a most reliable solution, while the CM4148 provides a most affordable solution.
When locally administering a Dell server the OpenManage and IT Assistant applications address the server at one TCP/IP address on the production LAN, the RAC Services tools address the DRAC at another IP address and the BMC is access for SOL and for IPMI connection using yet other UDP and TCP IP address on the Management LAN. A selection of authentication and encryption options will then have been configured for each of these accesses. Administering this server remotely requires all the firewalls and routers in the enterprise network to be configured to allow communications through all these ports. And administering a distributed network of such servers remotely adds another layer of complexity.
The SDTConnector client that is supplied with each IM/CM4000 ship preconfigured with support for Dell's BMCs, DRACs and associated OpenManage tools, and it provides a simple centralized solution for administration access to such distributed networks. With an IM4200 at each distributed location, all the OpenManage, IPMI and SOL access to each remote Dell server is securely tunneled thru SSH over the one selectable remote network port. SDTConnector then gives the system administrator secure access to all these local and remote servers and sites from the one screen on his/her desktop, and the appropriate tool for accessing a particular server can then be opened with a simple point-n-click
The Using SDTConnector with Dell PowerEdge Application Note explores this in more details.
